The rotator cuff comprises 4 principal muscles that stablize and support the shoulder joint: the supraspinatus, infraspinatus, teres minor and subscapularis. Tendons are fibrous tissue that connect muscle to bone. Tears in the rotator cuff can be within the muscle itself or at the site where the tendon attaches to the bone. There are different types of rotator cuff tears: parital tears where only a portion of the muscle or tendon is torn or full thickness tears wheree the tear extends throughout the entire muscle or tendon. If the injury involves a complete tear through the muscle ot tendon then it is called a rupture.

The normal MRI on the left demonstrates the supraspinatus muscle as it attaches on the humerus. On the right, the same mucle is torn (dark signal). The MRI below also shows a tear in the rotator cuff as noted in the dark signal in the muscle( white arrow).

New treatment options for rotator cuff tears include regeneration of the damaged muscle or tendon using stem cell therapy. Regenexxenables patients the ability to use their own stem cells to heal tears in the rotator cuff. Regenexx is a simple needle-in, needle-out procedure that enables the patient to avoid surgery, anesthesia and the extensive physical therapy commonly associated with surgical repair.

Please review the MRI below in which a patient had a tear in their rotator cuff. They underwent stem cell therapy at Regenexxwith healing of the tear, 100% resolution of pain and return to normal function.

I am not commenting on the therapy. On 8/30/12, I have a grade III ijury to my left shoulder from a severe fall at home. I am 61 year old female and full time care giver to my 72 year old husband. Our only income is his Social Security, leaving me uninsured. I have all of the symptoms of the grade III tear in my right rotator cuff right down to numbness on the left side of my right hand to elbow pain and neck pain, sleep is extremely hard and a month later it is no better. I have searched to no avail for some kind of help, for driving is difficult and being right handed makes learning to do most all things personal left handed is extremely hard at my age. I an so depressed and so miserable and so angry at a medical system that will offer no help to someone like me.
Thanks for listening,
Star F. Shepherd

Hey just wanted to give you a quick heads up.
The text in your post seem to be running off the screen in Firefox.
I’m not sure if this is a format issue or something to do with web browser compatibility but I thought I’d post to let
you know. The design look great though! Hope you
get the problem solved soon. Many thanks

I would recommend checking International Cellular Medicine Society ( ICMS) Website at http://www.stemcelldocs.org/. The upcoming meeting will be reviewing the basics of regenerative medicine including prolotherapy and PRP injections.

Unfortunately a tendon which has a full thickness tear with significant retraction of fibers has not been successfully treated with mesenchymal stem cell therapy. The critical issue is not the full thickness tear but the retraction of muscle fibers which are not able to give stem cells a template for growth and repair of damaged tissue.